Perfect Day
by Admiral R.T
Summary: One Shot. In one blast, life burns away: The prospect of a perfect day singes to ash as Tony risks losing the only thing he has ever been able to hold on to. An agent has no training in matters of the heart, will he lose the only love he's ever known?


**Perfect Day**

Disclaimer: 24 and all its characters do not belong to me; although I really wish they did lol.

Timeline: Post Season 5. It does contain some minor Season 5 spoilers, but for the most part it is very AU.

Also, any reviews, whether they're good or bad will be much appreciated.

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White walls and infinite hallways rushed past him as he rushed to find the right room number. It was the second time in 24 hours that he had been in the hospital. The familiarity and anxiety that was slowly overtaking him was starting to drive him to the breaking point; he couldn't let that happen.

Instead, Tony managed to maintain his composure once again. After all, he had to be strong in these types of predicaments, especially since it involved his wife. It would help if he knew the details of her condition.

As he rounded another corner, he saw the room and jogged towards it, praying fervently that she was okay and not in pain, but somehow doubting his own feeble wishes. The sight that he saw inside nearly broke his heart as he approached her bedside. The right side of her face was bruised and swollen with burns and a cast encased the length of her arm as well as her other wrist. Gauze covered areas where there were more burns and deep cuts. She looked so fragile.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a step closer towards her side. He was about to sit in the chair next to the bed when he heard footsteps enter the room behind him.

"Dr. Moreno," he greeted, extending his hand to Tony. "You must be Michelle's husband?"

Tony nodded and returned the brief handshake. "Is….Is she going to be all right?" he asked wearily. The tired and broken edge to his voice was not lost on the doctor.

"Well, as you can see, she's in pretty bad shape. The initial blast of the explosion caught her full force in the right side of her body which is why the majority of her injuries are on that side. We managed to stabilize her and stop the internal bleeding with some minor surgeries throughout the day," he started while Tony stood in silence, listening attentively. Why couldn't he just cut to the chase and tell him if she was going to make it or not?

"As of now, we expect her to make a full recovery. Although she will be in those casts for a few weeks to come." he finished and left the room after Tony thanked him.

Tony felt relief wash over him for the first time that day, ever since their car had exploded that morning and he had run out of the house in a near panic. At first, when he had found her after the initial blast, he had feared she was dead. Time didn't permit him to check her pulse or even release a small sob before the second explosion enveloped them both. Everything after that was a blur until the moment he woke up in the medical ward of CTU.

The rest of the day after that moment was nothing more than a faint memory. They had managed to find and apprehend the mastermind of the day's events. He couldn't remember anybody ever being so determined to put forth effort to capture and acquire retribution for the death of an important political figure than the assassination of David Palmer; but his motivation had been on a personal level as well. He thanked God that it was all over.

Sleepily, he walked into the adjoining bathroom to splash some water on his face. He looked up and his gaze caught his reflection in the small mirror that was in the room. Besides, the burns and blotches that covered the left side of his face, it looked like he had aged ten years in the past 24 hours. He could feel the pounding headache that was still ringing in his ears, despite the medication that CTU had provided.

CTU…every time his former job finally disappeared, something always happened that sucked him back into it with a vengeance and every time it happened he hated it more and more. The profession had a way of turning even one of the most normal, routine days into complete chaos with just a turn of a car door handle. The memories of that morning replayed clearly in his mind as he went and finally sat down in the chair next to her bed.

He couldn't remember a more relaxing or peaceful morning since the day they had left CTU if he had tried. It was a perfect blend of readiness and anticipation with a lingering beauty of the night before and the morning at hand.

His initial fears about the meeting had quickly dissipated with Michelle's insistent reassurance that everything was going to turn out fine in the end. They had spent the entire weekend and much of the previous week preparing for the presentation, with them finishing early the previous evening. The rest of the night had been spent in comfortable relaxation at their own home, snuggled up in bed.

Tony was more than blissfully happy; like he had been ever since he and Michelle had left CTU. He couldn't remember a time when life was more perfect. Sleeping at night was definitely a lot more peaceful and the nightmares had eventually gone away.

"Honey?" Michelle asked from her position next to him.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"This is probably going to seem like a really odd question," she started. "But have you ever thought about starting a family?"

'_Now that was a question I didn't expect,'_ he thought to himself.

Of course he had thought about it at certain times; though he had never given it any deep, mindful thought since circumstances had never been realistic or fair with their jobs for them to seriously consider anything like it. Things had changed in the last few months though.

"Yes, I have," he replied; and then tentatively asked, "Do you want to have kids?"

She was silent for a moment before responding. "Yes, I do. I've always wanted to; it's just never been the right moment with all that's happened. But for the first time it seems like we are living normal lives like any other married couple."

Tony couldn't agree more, even though there was still something that left him with some uncertainty at the prospect of even considering to be a parent. Maybe it was a lingering sense of fear that something from CTU would come back to haunt them, or it was just the natural nervousness of any man.

"You're right, Michelle. But I think we should think through it more thoroughly before we make a commitment like that," he responded.

She sat up more and leaned against the headboard. "Why?"

He sat up too and looked at her. "Because we just started a business. I think we should at least wait till things are more organized and have settled down."

A few moments passed before she nodded in agreement and said, "You're right."

Looking back on that night now, he wished that he had been more supportive than he had been. Nothing else had happened for the rest of the night. They had turned off the lights a few hours later, with the glow of the TV being the only source of small light. Small conversation had been made and that was it.

An hour passed before he heard footsteps clack against the tile behind him, bringing him out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw Jack standing in the room

"How is she?" he asked softly.

"She'll be fine. The doctor said she would pull through," he answered with a small smile.

Jack smiled back. "Good, I'm glad."

"Me too. I've been worried the whole day," he replied, not knowing why he had to add the last part in.

A solemn, almost remorseful demeanor passed over Jack's face as he walked to the other side of the room. "I know you were and I'm sorry I got you both into this mess in the first place. If I had known that the repercussions of faking my death a year and a half ago were going to lead to this, I would have never done it."

Tony looked up at him from his position in the chair. He knew that Jack must feel at least some guilt for what happened with everybody, even though it was genuinely not his fault. If it hadn't been for him once again, the day would have turned out to be even more of a disaster.

"I'm not blaming you, Jack; so don't you dare feel guilty about what happened today because it was not your fault," he reassured, his voice never wavering.

Jack looked down before answering, "Thanks, Tony. It's good to know that some people I know don't hate me. I've still got a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah, well," Tony started, "You've always gotten through everything else all right and in one piece, so what makes this any different?"

"I guess nothing," he responded. "Maybe I'm-"

The ring of his cell phone cut him off in mid sentence. "This is Bauer," he answered, walking out of the room after flashing Tony a glance.

'_Darn that phone,' _Tony thought as he leaned back in the chair again.

It looked like Jack wouldn't be getting some downtime for a long time to come, which was something Tony did not envy in the slightest, although he felt bad. He was ready for things to return to normal.

A few minutes later, Jack came back in. "Sorry Tony, but I have to go. Good luck with everything," Jack told him as he walked over to shake his hand

As Jack was about to talk out the door Tony called out, "Hey Jack?"

"Yeah?" he replied, turning his head.

Tony hesitated a moment before saying, "Thanks for coming."

Jack smiled and left.

Turning around in his chair, Tony continued his vigil by Michelle's side. By now he was desperately trying to stifle the sleep inducing yawns that were threatening to overcome him with each blink of an eye. He hadn't slept in 24 hours after all.

With nothing to distract him and keep him awake, he felt his eyes becoming heavier and heavier with each passing moment. He was about to drift off when he heard the bed rustle and saw Michelle shift slightly. Wordlessly, he watched her turn her head and groan faintly. He leaned forward slowly so he could hear her if she said anything.

"Tony?" It was nothing more than a faint whisper, but he heard it nonetheless. He looked up and saw Michelle looking at him intently.

He smiled and whispered back, "Hey, Baby. How are you feeling?"

She blinked and remained silent for a moment, "Really sore all over. Plus, I've got a pounding headache."

Tony couldn't help it, but he let out a small chuckle of relief. Everything was going to be okay. "That's good," he replied.

Michelle's brow furrowed as she shifted slightly, "Good?"

"It's the best outcome anybody could have ever hoped for," he explained, after cringing inwardly at how bad that must have sounded to her.

They were silent for a moment before Michelle, as if noticing his face for the first time, exclaimed, "Tony! What happened to you?"

She reached out to touch his face, but Tony grabbed her hand instead and held it. "Don't worry about it, Michelle. There was a second explosion and I got caught up in it," he explained, seeing a slightly horrified expression pass over her face.

"But…"

"Trust me, I'm fine," he said and smiled, trying to reassure her.

Michelle nodded, an overwhelming tiredness suddenly coming over her. Her eyes became heavier and heavier with each attempt to blink away the overpowering need to get some more sleep.

Tony noticed that she was resisting falling asleep so he leaned towards her, kissing her tenderly. "Get some sleep; you need it," he whispered into her ear. She nodded again silently, her eyes finally closing.

Eventually, Tony heard her breathing even out and knew she was asleep, even if it was just for a little while.

Sitting back in his chair, Tony lowered his face to his hands and sighed. It was finally over; this chapter of their life was closed and a new one was beginning. They could go back to normal and live an everyday life, run their business, and be free at last from the dangers of CTU and their past lives. Hell, maybe they'd even start that family that had been on their minds.

'_Yes,' _Tony thought to himself, his spirits genuinely rising for the first time that day, _'It's going to be perfect.'_


End file.
